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Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee
Murder begins with the click of a button in this true crime story of Facebook, catfishing and deadly jealousy--as seen on Investigation Discovery.
Chris was a CIA agent worried for the safety of Jenelle Potter. Contacting her parents and boyfriend, Chris warned them that Billy Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth were bullying Jenelle online and posed an imminent, physical threat. Something needed to be done, Chris said. And he'd have their backs if they took action to protect Jenelle. And so they did. Jenelle's father and boyfriend murdered Payne and Hayworth in their own home--mercifully leaving the couple's infant unharmed. But when they told their story to the police, they discovered a devastating there was no Chris. It had been Jenelle the entire time, catfishing them to exact revenge over a Facebook feud.
Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath who set a double murder in motion from the shadows of the internet. Dennis Brooks, the lead prosecutor in this strange and tragic case, examines the crime and trial from all angles in Too Pretty to Live.
What the police investigation turned up, though, made this crime all the more terrifying. Jenelle had been Chris the entire time, catfishing her family and her boyfriend to act in vengeance on her behalf. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath, made all the more ruthless by the anonymity of her online life.
Bizarre and unforgettable, Dennis Brooks examines the crime and trial from all angles, bringing his expertise as the lead prosecutor in the strange and disturbing case.
Chris was a CIA agent worried for the safety of Jenelle Potter. Contacting her parents and boyfriend, Chris warned them that Billy Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth were bullying Jenelle online and posed an imminent, physical threat. Something needed to be done, Chris said. And he'd have their backs if they took action to protect Jenelle. And so they did. Jenelle's father and boyfriend murdered Payne and Hayworth in their own home--mercifully leaving the couple's infant unharmed. But when they told their story to the police, they discovered a devastating there was no Chris. It had been Jenelle the entire time, catfishing them to exact revenge over a Facebook feud.
Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath who set a double murder in motion from the shadows of the internet. Dennis Brooks, the lead prosecutor in this strange and tragic case, examines the crime and trial from all angles in Too Pretty to Live.
What the police investigation turned up, though, made this crime all the more terrifying. Jenelle had been Chris the entire time, catfishing her family and her boyfriend to act in vengeance on her behalf. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath, made all the more ruthless by the anonymity of her online life.
Bizarre and unforgettable, Dennis Brooks examines the crime and trial from all angles, bringing his expertise as the lead prosecutor in the strange and disturbing case.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 9, 2016
436 people are currently reading
1192 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
November 14, 2024
11/10: imagine my surprise when I discovered I didn't actually own this book, but it was only at the offering of audible! It has now been purchased and I am listening to it once more. I know the premise is obviously terrible. I'm not glorifying murder. It's just listening to this narrator as he has to read these god awful emails is just too delicious
Edit 9/4: I listen to a part of this book just about everyday and I'll prob go to hell for laughing my ass off and made some of this horrific senseless family murder into something humorously fantastic. Like my third shift team will use quotes from this book reaction to a problem. The narrator, whom I'm not familiar with, does such an amazing job i dont know how he got through reading these off in left field so off like in a foreign language fb and email statements.
These people are prime examples of those who need instructions on shampoo bottles
This crime is absolutely ludicrous! 30 and 60 year olds acting like they are in high school and then leading to murder. Social media is the devil.
All the times I've listened to this and I am today years old hearing that the dad was supposedly taking morphine ER 200mg three times daily-I'm sorry what? I don't think I have EVER entered an order for that for someone terminal on hospice let alone for someone who lives at home and just needs an oxygen tank and rarely uses his walker. im flummoxed on this one. Tell me why I always get the books with the jacked up pharmacy?
EDIT 8/6 indeed 200mg of morphine sulfate at three times daily would pretty much make ya dead. Total deadness.
I have not stopped listening to this book since I made these latest comments this year. It is so massive in its lies and destruction not to mention its blatant ignorance and spite, I can’t walk away. Listening to the narrator read these emails amongst all of the bullies and victims with the 3 year old grammar and poor sentence structure and so many f bombs that I forget we aren’t all on a pirate ship lights up my stressful nights at work. I feel so much for the families who suffered and lost because of these idiots.
Edit 9/4: I listen to a part of this book just about everyday and I'll prob go to hell for laughing my ass off and made some of this horrific senseless family murder into something humorously fantastic. Like my third shift team will use quotes from this book reaction to a problem. The narrator, whom I'm not familiar with, does such an amazing job i dont know how he got through reading these off in left field so off like in a foreign language fb and email statements.
These people are prime examples of those who need instructions on shampoo bottles
This crime is absolutely ludicrous! 30 and 60 year olds acting like they are in high school and then leading to murder. Social media is the devil.
All the times I've listened to this and I am today years old hearing that the dad was supposedly taking morphine ER 200mg three times daily-I'm sorry what? I don't think I have EVER entered an order for that for someone terminal on hospice let alone for someone who lives at home and just needs an oxygen tank and rarely uses his walker. im flummoxed on this one. Tell me why I always get the books with the jacked up pharmacy?
EDIT 8/6 indeed 200mg of morphine sulfate at three times daily would pretty much make ya dead. Total deadness.
I have not stopped listening to this book since I made these latest comments this year. It is so massive in its lies and destruction not to mention its blatant ignorance and spite, I can’t walk away. Listening to the narrator read these emails amongst all of the bullies and victims with the 3 year old grammar and poor sentence structure and so many f bombs that I forget we aren’t all on a pirate ship lights up my stressful nights at work. I feel so much for the families who suffered and lost because of these idiots.
March 27, 2017
This story was so nuts it SEEMS like it could be non-fiction but it is sadly too real. Janelle Potter, a woman in her 30s with strict, gun-toting parents, functions at a 4th grade reading level, is socially outcast and lives her life on the computer, namely Facebook. When she is slighted in love by a man named Billy who goes on to father a child with a woman named Billie-Jean, Janelle begins a crazy online scheme in which she pretends to be a CIA operative named Chris and convinces her own parents that this couple, Billy and Billie-Jean are out to harm Janelle and her family, and that he is keeping them under CIA surveillance. Eventually everything escalates to the point that Janelle and 'Chris' convince her father and a family friend to actually murder this couple in order to protect Janelle. It is all true, there are stories of it all over the internet, but the audio book was full of details including the exact text messages and emails and so forth. A harrowing tale, one that true crime readers would love, and one that makes me shake my head at the world and people in general. Sad stuff. --Jen from Quebec :0)
August 5, 2022
I wish I could explain this book in a word other than insane, but I'm afraid I can't.
This case is bananas, and made me glad that even as a young kid who got Facebook just to play games, I decided to deactivate it on my own a short while later and never looked back. Luckily I didn't run into any people like this, but wow.
It's so hard to believe that they exist and that this is real BUT THEY DO AND IT IS!!!
The book is from the prosecutor's PoV so that was new, I didn't mind it.
I really don't know what else to say, just crazy crazy crazy.
This case is bananas, and made me glad that even as a young kid who got Facebook just to play games, I decided to deactivate it on my own a short while later and never looked back. Luckily I didn't run into any people like this, but wow.
It's so hard to believe that they exist and that this is real BUT THEY DO AND IT IS!!!
The book is from the prosecutor's PoV so that was new, I didn't mind it.
I really don't know what else to say, just crazy crazy crazy.
February 6, 2017
I enjoyed that this book because it was from the prosecutors POV and not the media or anything. I think because he was the prosecutor he focused more on the evidence and I prefer my true crime to be fact based and not have a narrative bent.
March 2, 2017
Ugh. Hard to read. I have read 32 percent and this book is confusing as heck. Yes I understand it is a confusing case but how the author began this book is not one I like. From the beginning we are bombarded with names with at first no explanation and then there are tons of emails with no interpunction at all and so many typos. I know these kind of people exist because I have some on fb and they are always fighting on there which is amusing for me to read but in a way sad.
That being said I did read one third in one session while that normally takes me longer.
Off to read more.
Update April 12 2016
Terrible terrible. I became so bored after a while reading the same rants and awful emails. That sounds good no? Reading someone else's private conversations? Especially a crazy person's but I can assure you no it becomes tedious.
The book could have been better. More understanding of the Potter family and to get to know all the other characters a bit more.
Even the trial which I looked forward to made me fall asleep.Hardly any info about the people that were killed or their friends except that a lot of names were in the emails and it got confusing and not interesting.
Alas I do not recommend.
February 18, 2017
This was a mostly-interesting account of a very, very odd murder case. It sort of dragged in the beginning but then picked up steam, and I really wanted to find out how it played out in court. This would have been a spoiler-free TC story if the knucklehead who designed the jacket hadn't included a blurb that spoiled almost every single surprise between the covers. The photo section gave nothing away and the author didn't ruin it for you during the introduction. I'm glad I read to the very end, where another revelation was waiting for me. "Grammar Nazis" will hate this book, but for me it was worth the white-knuckle journey through those nutty e-mails. I feel horrible for the jury, who had 207 pages of that stuff to read through! Note to author: if you're going to criticize other people's punctuation and spelling, you need to brush up your own usage and punctuation before going to press.
September 21, 2016
I truly understand that the prosecutor was proud of his work on a very difficult and complicated case, but I read true crime to learn about both the bad guys and the good guys. There just wasn't enough here to tell the story. It really was only about the prosecution, not the victims or the actual story leading up to the murders. I felt like I just read the trial prep and not an actual book. The story itself seemed fascinating though.
October 7, 2016
The unfriending murders.
This is quite a modern day murder story about a double killing and how it ties to the Internet. An unusual case where those most responsible weren't even present when it happened and yet charges were brought. There was a lot of investigation in this "catfishing" case to bring the real story to light when it could have been overlooked. Some real strange characters in this and not the ones you'd expect.
This is quite a modern day murder story about a double killing and how it ties to the Internet. An unusual case where those most responsible weren't even present when it happened and yet charges were brought. There was a lot of investigation in this "catfishing" case to bring the real story to light when it could have been overlooked. Some real strange characters in this and not the ones you'd expect.
November 14, 2016
This was definitely one of the most bizarre cases I have read. My head is still spinning, trying to understand how a father, a mother, and a daughter could all share in such a strange world view. It seems like a bonafide instance of a folie au deux, though it was not labeled as such in this book.
Brooks was the prosecutor in this case. At times that made the story more enjoyable and at times less. He contended that lie detection, though not admissible in court, was a valuable investigative tool. The reason lie detection is not admissible is precisely because it is in fact not a good investigative tool. Brooks assertion that it was made me wonder about his critical thinking skills. That said, there is little doubt that this entire family was culpable. Even though there were times Brooks reflected on various challenges prosecutors face, I felt he could have done a much better job of delving deeper into those challenges.
Brooks was the prosecutor in this case. At times that made the story more enjoyable and at times less. He contended that lie detection, though not admissible in court, was a valuable investigative tool. The reason lie detection is not admissible is precisely because it is in fact not a good investigative tool. Brooks assertion that it was made me wonder about his critical thinking skills. That said, there is little doubt that this entire family was culpable. Even though there were times Brooks reflected on various challenges prosecutors face, I felt he could have done a much better job of delving deeper into those challenges.
August 4, 2016
Straight and to the point. I found the case to be interesting. I really appreciated that the attorney didn't take the opportunity to make pot-shots at the defendant. I was really at the point where I didn't think it was possible to read a book on a case by a prosecutor and not have it riddled with low blows like 'this homely girl thought she was beautiful' or the like (this the amount of times the defendants beauty was brought up by the defendant.)
I took a star off because it didn't feel balanced. He never delved into the other side of this whole thing. It was just the defendants actions and a tiny bit at the end of 'maybe there was a little to her accusations after all.' Phone records and the like would've been brought up during the trial and they were convicted so I don't think it would've detracted from his case to mention that in here.
I took a star off because it didn't feel balanced. He never delved into the other side of this whole thing. It was just the defendants actions and a tiny bit at the end of 'maybe there was a little to her accusations after all.' Phone records and the like would've been brought up during the trial and they were convicted so I don't think it would've detracted from his case to mention that in here.
October 15, 2016
Interesting true crime story that was not presented well. Repetitive and trite, the story was not unfolded, you are awkwardly and abruptly exposed to it. You'd be better off listening to the Sword and Scale podcast coverage of this story.
July 28, 2019
So weird ... this family has serious mental problems. Their hatred and 'electronic wars' over perceived hatred and jealousy of a troubled daughter that can, at best, be described as a delusional freak.
June 1, 2016
This was the most confusing and complicated crime I've ever read about, I even had to grab a notepad and make a "cheat sheet"of all the people involved and their connections to Jenelle's family and this murder. All confusion aside, this book was very well written and easy to read. Dennis Brooks did an excellent job providing information about these senseless murders.
March 29, 2018
Too annoying to listen to. Uneducated adults and manufactured facebook drama ends in murder.
October 26, 2022
Good read!
April 5, 2024
Barely a book, more just transcripts of evidential emails and texts. Genuine stupidity is so scary.
June 17, 2017
Fascinating case. It's really sad how a couple of people can manipulate other people to kill.
June 5, 2016
Two main questions I feel I need to ask prior to venting my opinion of this book: 1) What makes a lawyer feel he/she can write a story? 2) Where are the editors who are supposed to be helping these lawyers write stories? Diversion books has failed Dennis Brooks.
A) His faulty grammar should have been corrected: he mixes up "I" and "me" often, over uses/inappropriately-uses "had" too many times to count. His syntax is awkward at best and incomprehensible at worst. His use of split infinitives is reminiscent of high school errors (even though splitting infinitives is accepted now it makes for uneasy reading).
B) His writing itself leaves much to be edited. He identifies most major characters early, victims and perpetrators, but around page 39 in my edition he mentions Jaime Curd being interrogated, but has not identified him nor stated his relationship to the main actors or the crime. Not until around page 100 does he reveal that Jaime is the boyfriend of Jennell, and not until even later does he place Jaime at the scene of the crime.
C) He quotes way too many long, ridiculous emails written by the main actors, complete with misspellings, run-on sentences, lazy abbreviations, no punctuation, etc, then underlines the critical parts, and additionally recaps the important parts. What's the point of all of that: filler?
D) His use of pronouns is inexact and confusing.
The result is a totally frustrating book which is a pity, since the story he is trying to tell is so interesting. I hate it when that happens!
A) His faulty grammar should have been corrected: he mixes up "I" and "me" often, over uses/inappropriately-uses "had" too many times to count. His syntax is awkward at best and incomprehensible at worst. His use of split infinitives is reminiscent of high school errors (even though splitting infinitives is accepted now it makes for uneasy reading).
B) His writing itself leaves much to be edited. He identifies most major characters early, victims and perpetrators, but around page 39 in my edition he mentions Jaime Curd being interrogated, but has not identified him nor stated his relationship to the main actors or the crime. Not until around page 100 does he reveal that Jaime is the boyfriend of Jennell, and not until even later does he place Jaime at the scene of the crime.
C) He quotes way too many long, ridiculous emails written by the main actors, complete with misspellings, run-on sentences, lazy abbreviations, no punctuation, etc, then underlines the critical parts, and additionally recaps the important parts. What's the point of all of that: filler?
D) His use of pronouns is inexact and confusing.
The result is a totally frustrating book which is a pity, since the story he is trying to tell is so interesting. I hate it when that happens!
February 22, 2016
Wow. Just wow. I first heard about this book through the Podcast "True Murder" and it was so fascinating and seemed so layered that I absolutely had to read it. I also really wanted to get my hands on those emails and read as much of it as I could. This book did not disappoint. It gave me everything I wanted, full characterization including the narrator as a character, which was fantastic. He was the DA Prosecutor on the case and his insight was delightful. The book was a page turner, you never knew when you were going to get surprised with one fact over another. The chapters also were just divided really well chronologically and also by specific subject. And those subjects often reflected either exhibits or testimony so that the book was a pleasure to read and all the information made sense. It was really good.
March 7, 2016
Very interesting subject matter and a bizarre case. This family of killers was just plain looney, the tragedy is they believed their own madness, and that led to the death of an innocent couple. Jiminy Christmas!! A case of foli-aux trios? Unfortunately I believe there will be more of these internet based murders in the future. This book is written by the prosecutor, who does a great job! well worth a look.
Jiminy Christmas!!!!
Jiminy Christmas!!!!
Read
July 4, 2021This was a fairly dry telling of a fairly interesting case. Over and over the author describes this case as one of the most bizarre, strange, and unique cases blah blah blah. It is definitely unique but I'm not sure it's as bizarre as it's claimed to be. Especially not when compared with the Gypsy and Dee Dee Blanchard case. Ultimately, it was still a pretty good way to kill a Saturday.
June 11, 2017
Good true crime story
I was unaware of this strange and creepy story before the I found this book online through my local library. Truly fascinating. A very good read indeed.
I was unaware of this strange and creepy story before the I found this book online through my local library. Truly fascinating. A very good read indeed.
March 18, 2018
Well written, well researched, this book proves that life is stranger than fiction.. Crazy crime!
August 6, 2024
Bizarre. Crazy. Mind boggling. I’m fascinated by stories about Catfishing etc and this is the penultimate. The catfish of catfishes.
This true crime book ticked all the boxes. Written by the prosecutor in the case, it was matter-of-fact and to the point. The writing was intelligible and the bonus being that it was written by someone with first hand, intimate knowledge of the case. The author was able to expertly break down the evidence and present it to the reader, much like he would in court. The timeline was precise and I didn’t feel weighed down with facts and words, particularly at the trials. It held my attention to the end.
I personally find it very interesting to be presented with evidence of texts/ transcripts/ correspondence of the suspects. It is interesting to witness their manner of communicating and gain insight into their state of mind, as well as their schemes and manipulations. Much like A Daughter’s Deadly Betrayal, where the murder if planned via text, this was an unfolding of emails.
The only thing lacking was a little more background on the victims as, to get a feel for them, really helps to reflect the severity of the crime and the lives that have been stolen.
Overall a very worthwhile true crime read.
This true crime book ticked all the boxes. Written by the prosecutor in the case, it was matter-of-fact and to the point. The writing was intelligible and the bonus being that it was written by someone with first hand, intimate knowledge of the case. The author was able to expertly break down the evidence and present it to the reader, much like he would in court. The timeline was precise and I didn’t feel weighed down with facts and words, particularly at the trials. It held my attention to the end.
I personally find it very interesting to be presented with evidence of texts/ transcripts/ correspondence of the suspects. It is interesting to witness their manner of communicating and gain insight into their state of mind, as well as their schemes and manipulations. Much like A Daughter’s Deadly Betrayal, where the murder if planned via text, this was an unfolding of emails.
The only thing lacking was a little more background on the victims as, to get a feel for them, really helps to reflect the severity of the crime and the lives that have been stolen.
Overall a very worthwhile true crime read.
July 31, 2017
I listened to this as an audiobook which I do not recommend (at least not the version I heard which was with the world's most robotic narrator.) Despite that, this book is unbelievably fascinating. And when I say unbelievable I mean it. It's fairly obvious from simply the cover of the book how it turns out but even knowing the ending doesn't take away from the story.
You know the saying, fool me once? Imagine being able not to just fool not one, not two, not three but an entire community of people. Like I said, unbelievable.
The author isn't really an author, he's a prosecutor and some of that shows through in the writing. For the most part it's not a detraction from the story but an enhancement. I imagine a more literary professional would have tried to add to the story when the real life characters and their conversations are enough on their own.
Also, reading this in conjunction with J. D. Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" makes for some incredible supporting insights into the culture and people in this story.
You know the saying, fool me once? Imagine being able not to just fool not one, not two, not three but an entire community of people. Like I said, unbelievable.
The author isn't really an author, he's a prosecutor and some of that shows through in the writing. For the most part it's not a detraction from the story but an enhancement. I imagine a more literary professional would have tried to add to the story when the real life characters and their conversations are enough on their own.
Also, reading this in conjunction with J. D. Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" makes for some incredible supporting insights into the culture and people in this story.
March 28, 2021
A fascinating case precisely for being so mundane. Catfishing is an unremarkable phenomenon/hazard of the internet and the records of the one-sided strife that motivated these killings are mind-numbingly petty. Nonetheless it did lead to a premeditated and masterminded murder--"masterminded" in clumsy, transparent, but effective ways: it's vulnerable people making dumb decisions all the way down. Brooks's workmanlike writing is bland in a way that complements the grinding atmosphere; his depiction of the legal system is honest but unflattering, and approach to neurodivergence is predictably spotty.
April 21, 2020
I read this non-fiction book because I have a secret, sick, obsession with that TV show on MTV "Catfish" and I was interested in a book set in my adopted home state of Tennessee. Why do I do this to myself. People in Tennessee do not come across well in this book, and Dennis Brooks, the prosecutor, comes across as pompous, and his writing style feels condescending at times.
April 23, 2022
Very hard to get through. The story itself was absolutely crazy, but this account (written by the lead prosecutor in the case) was unnecessarily drawn out, repetitive, and boring. This could have boiled down to an article-length summary. It consisted of dozens of emails and Facebook messages littered with spelling and grammatical errors. This was truly a chore to finish.
January 12, 2023
This book was quite good and from the prosecutors standpoint. However, I am familiar with the case, so I wasn't too lost by not getting the full lead up to the crime. But I would strongly suggest anyone who is not familiar with the case to hope on YouTube and watch the 48 Hours "Unfriended" episode, which is literally the entire lead up to the crime. (Type in "Unfriended Facebook Murders" and that should take you right to it.) The texts and emails that were included in this book were fascinating and just mind blowing. Its wild what happened and shocking that it went that far.
October 25, 2020
the literary equivalent of getting hit by a semi
Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews